Local foundation awards $500,000 for school athletics facility

The Speer Dream Foundation has awarded a $500,000 grant to Keswick Christian School in St. Petersburg as part of a $2.3 million grant disbursement initiative. 

The funds will be used to renovate and enhance the school’s athletic facilities, including building new bathrooms, a concession stand, bleachers and other improvements.

The Speer Dream Foundation is a faith-based private foundation based in St. Petersburg with a mission to address critical community needs for a meaningful impact in the Tampa Bay region. At a check presentation event Wednesday, Lisa Vickers, CEO of the Speer Dream Foundation, said Keswick Christian School received one of the larger grants of the foundation’s current grant disbursement initiative. More than 20 area nonprofits have received grants ranging from $5,000 to $500,000.

“We chose that amount so we could help both small and large organizations,” Vickers said. “With this gift, we don’t just want to help one or a few; we help many for a long term, multiple generations.”

The Crusader Athletics Complex at Keswick Christian School.

Vickers also noted that athletics play a crucial role in enabling private schools like Keswick to attract a larger and more diverse student body.

“I heard the coach say, ‘It’s about excellence without extravagance,’ and I really agreed with that,” Vickers said. “If you don’t have a great athletics program, because of our world today, you really don’t attract a lot of people. Florida is very much a hot spot [for athletics], and if students want to get scholarships or move forward with their education, this is a need.”

Tim Whipple, Executive Director of the Speer Dream Foundation, said they chose to award Keswick Christian School with one of its most sizable grants because of its faith-based mission, which aligns with the foundation’s values, and because the athletics improvements are part of a broader vision to improve the school.

“We’re just a part of a larger picture, but we’re able to jump-start the process,” Whipple explained. “That’s one of the things we like to do, is accelerate. People in our community do a lot of good, hard work, and then we try to accelerate that with resources.”

Part of a $500,000 grant from the Speer Dream Foundation has helped Keswick Christian School build new bleachers for its campus athletics complex.

Keswick Christian School is a pre-k through 12th-grade private Christian school located at 10101 54th Ave. N. The school started with about 75 students in 1953 and has since grown to a campus that spans 30 acres in the Bay Pines area of St. Pete. 

Nick Stratis, Keswick Christian School Superintendent, said the school’s relationship with the Speer Dream Foundation is a natural fit, and the grant they received will not only elevate the physical appearance of the athletics complex but also help students develop as individuals.

“I was a student here, and what I learned through athletics is priceless,” said Stratis. “We are blessed to be able to improve on our venue so that we can create more relationships and opportunities for our students to grow academically, spiritually, emotionally and physically.”

Applications for grant funding from the Speer Dream Foundation are open through Sept. 30. Guidelines and the online application are available at this link.

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